Explorer for Endevor

The Explorer for Endevor VS Code extension modernizes the way you interact with Endevor and offers a user-friendly and convenient way to work with elements and inventory locations. Explorer for Endevor includes the following features:

Work with multiple Endevor inventory locations
Navigate and filter elements in the Endevor Elements view
Manage elements (add, edit, generate, move, and more)
Work with listings
Manage packages (create, update, cast, and more)
Leverage a basic Software Control Language (SCL) support (statements highlighting)
Access reports (C1MSGS1, APIMSGS, and C1MSGSA)
Work with Endevor synchronized workspaces
Manage Endevor connections and inventory location in team config files (Zowe integration)
Access API Mediation Layer, using base profiles (Zowe integration)

The extension streamlines the way you access and edit your Endevor-based source code, saving your mainframe resources. You can navigate your Endevor environments, work with packages, print listings, access reports and more from the convenience of a lightweight IDE.

Explorer for Endevor is a part of Code4z, an all-round VS Code extension package that offers a modern experience for mainframe application developers, including tools for language support, data editing, testing, and source code management. For an interactive overview of Code4z, see the Code4z Developer Cockpit.

We encourage you to share ideas to help improve Explorer for Endevor. You can also report issues in the extension, using the following link.

Share an idea or open an issue in our Git repository

Announcements and News

REST API v1 EndevorService/api/v1 and EndevorService/rest will no longer be supported in Explorer for Endevor 2.0.0 (release plan - End of 2025). Ensure that you use REST API v2 EndevorService/api/v2 in basePath in your Endevor connections to avoid business disruptions.
Mainframe Technical Exchanges: June and October 2025

Join us for the Mainframe Technical Exchanges virtually (June 24-26) and in Plano, Texas (October 15-17). Connect with Mainframe Experts who will share the latest technical education and product demos and respond to your questions and feedback. These educational events are a great way to network with peers and experts from across the globe.

Bookmark this page, Join Us for the Mainframe Technical Exchanges, for current registration and event information.

Address Software Requirements

Ensure that you meet the following prerequisites before you use Explorer for Endevor:

Client-side Software Requirements:

Access to Endevor.
Visual Studio Code version 1.82 or higher.
(Optional) For the text search feature to work, ensure that you use Endevor REST API v2 with basepath EndevorService/api/v2.

Host-side Software Requirements:

Endevor 18.0.12 or higher:
- (Endevor 18.0.12) Install PTF SO09580
- (Endevor 18.1) Install PTF SO09581
- (Endevor 19.0)
Endevor Web Services
- (Optional) For the text search feature to work, ensure that you install EWS 2.15 or higher. Install PTF LU10870.

Endevor Security Requirements for COBOL LS with Automatic Dependency Retrieval:

Ensure that you have access to the following pseudo data sets that are defined in the ESI table for the inventory location where the processors reside:
```
ENVIRONMENT_ACCESS
PRIMARY_OPTIONS - PRINT MENUITEM
ACTION_INITIATION - DISPLAY MENUAUTH (ACTION)
```
Ask your Endevor administrator to provide access if you are not authorized to access the previously mentioned data sets.

Getting Started

Create an Endevor connection and Endevor inventory location to get started with Explorer for Endevor. Alternatively, use your existing Zowe CLI Endevor profiles to get started.

Create Endevor Connection

Create an Endevor connection.

Click the Add a New Endevor Connection button to add an Endevor connection.

Alternatively, select your existing Endevor connections.
Select Create a new Endevor Connection.
Enter a name for your connection.
Enter your Endevor Web Services URL in the http(s)://host:port/basePath format.
- Depending on the Endevor connections you use, you can include EndevorService/api/v1, EndevorService/rest or EndevorService/api/v2 in basePath. If basePath is omitted, the default is EndevorService/api/v2.
  
  Warning: REST API v1 EndevorService/api/v1 and EndevorService/rest will no longer be supported in Explorer for Endevor 2.0.0. Ensure that you use REST API v2 EndevorService/api/v2 in basePath in your Endevor connections to avoid business disruptions.
- Explorer for Endevor checks if the specified URL is accessible. If not, you are prompted to either change the specified value or proceed without changing the value.
- You might be prompted to either accept or reject connections with self-signed certificates if the extension encounters an issue with the server certificate issuer validation in the connection testing phase. If no issues are found, the prompt does not appear and the value is set to reject.
(Optional) Enter your username and password to add your mainframe credentials to the connection.

Adding your credentials to your connection enables you to access different inventory locations without the need to enter your credentials more than once.

Notes:
- If your connection does not include credentials during the first session of Explorer for Endevor, you are prompted to enter credentials.
- Passwords with 9 or more characters are treated as a passphrase by the server and are case-sensitive.

Your new connection is now available in the Endevor Elements view.

Create Endevor Inventory Location

Once you have an Endevor connection, you need to add an inventory location. An inventory location consists of an Endevor instance, Endevor path with environment, system, subsystem, stage number, element type, CCID, and Comment. Inventory locations enable you to view and work with elements of specified Endevor locations.

Click the + icon next to your Endevor connection to add a new inventory location.
Create a name for the inventory location and press Enter.
Select an instance from the drop-down menu and press Enter.
Enter the Endevor path and press Enter.

The path has the environment/stagenum[/system/subsystem/type/element] format.

Notes:
- If you are unsure about the system, subsystem, type, or element parameters, you can substitute any of these parameters with a \* wildcard.
- The elements search function is executed with the Build using map Endevor list option.
(Optional) Enter CCID and press Enter.
(Optional) Enter a comment and press Enter.
- If you want to skip the CCID and/or comment step, you can leave the inputs blank by pressing Enter.
- You can cancel the creation of Endevor inventory location at any step by pressing Escape.

You successfully created an inventory location.

Walkthroughs

VS Code enables you to review walkthroughs to get started with Explorer for Endevor. The walkthrough contains short guides that help you get familiar with the extension features.

Click Help in the main menu bar.
Select Open Walkthrough... from the drop-down menu. If the option is not present, you can access the Walkthroughs section using the Welcome menu item.
Select the Get Started with Explorer for Explorer walkthrough. If you are on the welcome page and the walkthrough is not visible immediately, click More... below the Walkthroughs section.
Select available walkthroughs to discover more features.

(Optional) Customize Extension Settings

You can configure the following settings of the extension:

The number of parallel HTTP requests supported by Endevor.
Automatic Signout. The signout function locks elements for you. If the option is enabled, retrieved or edited elements are signed out to you. If an element is signed out to somebody else, a notification asking whether to override the signout pops up. If the option is disabled, the extension retrieves or edits an element without signout.
Telemetry level. You can disable or configure data that is collected by Telemetry in the VS Code Settings. Navigate to Settings > Application > Telemetry > Telemetry Level to do so. For more information, see Disable Telemetry in the VS Code documentation.

Note: This setting applies not only to Explorer for Endevor but to all extensions in your VS Code.
Profiles: Keep in Sync. The option enables you to use a team configuration file that stores your pre-saved Endevor configuration or Zowe CLI Endevor profiles with Endevor locations in the extension. By default, the setting is enabled, meaning that the extension reads your team configuration files on startup and displays profile information in the Endevor Elements view. If the option is disabled, the extension does not check the .zowe folder for available profiles.

Note: You can use Endevor connections and inventory locations that are created in Explorer for Endevor in the extension only.
File extension resolution. The option enables you to choose between the following methods of file extension resolution for the locally saved elements.
- 'Element name only' method uses the element name to determine the file extension.
- 'Endevor type file extension only' method uses the Endevor defined file extension for the type.
- (Default) 'Endevor type file extension or type name' method uses the Endevor defined file extension for the type. The method also uses the Endevor type name as a fall-back option.
(Experimental) Workspace Synchronization. The option enables the Endevor Workspace initialization that lets you create a synchronized Endevor workspace locally.

Note: Experimental features might include undiscovered errors. Please, use this feature at your own discretion.
Ask for Processor Group. The option enables selection of a processor group when you perform Generate, Add, or Upload actions. A selected processor group overrides the previously chosen processor group.
Generate Subsystem. The option enables the extension to add the Generate all Elements feature. The option is disabled by default. Once enabled, the feature appears in the Endevor Elements view. You can then perform the Generate all Elements action against a subsystem node.
Endevor: Allow Element Delete. The option enables the Delete feature and makes the feature available to you in the Endevor Elements view. The options is disabled by default.
Endevor: Ask for CCID/Comment. The option enables prompting for CCID/Comment.
Endevor: Element List Limit. The option enables you to set a maximum number of elements that are filtered in the Endevor Elements view when you use the Element Text filter. This option improves the speed of Element text-based filtering and saves your mainframe resources. The default number of searched elements is 10000. To enable the unlimited filtering, set the value to 0.

Note: Setting the limit value to 0 decreases the filtering speed by consuming more mainframe resources.
Endevor: Close on Upload. If true, when an edited element is uploaded to Endevor, the edit session will be automatically closed.

Access the Explorer for Endevor settings by clicking Settings > Extensions > Explorer for Endevor.

(Optional) Manage Connections and Location in Extension Tree

You can perform the following actions to manage your connections and inventory locations in the extension tree:

Delete a connection: Delete your connection permanently by right-clicking a connection node and selecting the Delete a connection option.
Delete an inventory location: Delete your inventory location permanently by right-clicking an inventory location node and selecting the Delete an inventory location option.
Hide a connection: If you do not want to list your connections in the Endevor Elements view, you can hide such connections. To hide a connection, right-click the connection node and select the Hide a connection option.
Hide an inventory location: If you do not want to list your inventory locations in the Endevor Elements view, you can hide such locations. To hide an inventory location, right-click the location node and select the Hide an inventory location option.
Edit an Endevor Connection: Edit your Endevor connection login details by right-clicking a connection node and selecting the Edit an Endevor Connection option.

Note: The Hide a connection or Hide an inventory location actions do not permanently delete the information from the extension.

Review Basic Functions

Review the following basic Explorer for Endevor features:

Filter elements: Filter one or multiple elements by names, types, last action CCIDs, or text.
Select element search mode: Select one of two element search modes: the first found elements or all elements from up the Endevor map.
Add an element: Upload an element from your workstation to a chosen Endevor inventory location.
View an element: View the contents, summary report, and source level information of the selected element.
Delete an element: Delete a selected element. You can disable or enable this feature in the extension settings.
Move an element: Move an element up the map by using the Endevor move statement with such options as With History, Bypass Element Delete, Synchronize, Retain Signout, and Jump.
View details: View the details of a chosen element. The details include the environment, stage, system, subsystem, element type, and the name and extension of the element.
Show history: Review the history of a selected element, including original elements from up the map.
Generate all elements for a subsystem: Generate the elements that are allocated in place in the selected subsystem, using a proper type sequence. Additionally, produce a detailed report that contains build status.
Review the Generate report: Review the C1MSGS1 Endevor batch execution report that is available to you once the Generate in Place or Generate with Copyback function is executed.
Edit: The Edit action enables you to download an element to your workspace, edit, and upload the selected element step by step. Once you are done with editing the element, press Ctrl+S or Command+S to upload the edited element back.
Out-of-Sync: The option enables you to resolve the out-of-sync situations for elements that are marked with the out-of-sync status.
Generate: Call the Generate action for an element to invoke the Generate Processor that creates an executable form of the element.
Print a listing: Reveal the output of the performed Generate action.
Sign out: Lock an Endevor element so that the element is only editable by you.
Sign in: Let you unlock a locked element. You can only unlock the elements that were locked by you.

You can also export the elements into a local folder on your workstation to work with them without utilizing the Endevor capabilities. To learn about how to export elements, see the Retrieve elements into a local folder section.

You apply one filter or multiple filters to the Endevor elements that were fetched into the Endevor Elements view. Filters enable you to display the specified elements only.

Hover over an inventory location in the Endevor Elements view.

The Filter an Inventory Location icon appears on the right side of the panel.
Click the Filter an Inventory Location icon to set one or more filters for your elements.

The dialog with the following options appears:
- Select the By Element Name option.
  
  The Explorer dialog appears. Type a name(s) to filter by. Use a comma to separate multiple values.
- Select the By Type option.
  
  The Explorer dialog appears. Enter a type pattern to filter by. Use a comma to separate multiple values.
- Select the By Element Last Action CCID option.
  
  The Explorer dialog appears. Type a last action CCID to filter by. Use a comma to separate multiple values.
- Select the By Element Text option.
  
  The Explorer dialog appears. Type text to filter by. Use AND or OR to separate multiple search strings. You can search for the text in Element source, history, changes, or summary.
  
  Also, you can set a limit to the number of elements you want to filter. For more information, see the Endevor: Element List Limit option in the Configure Explorer for Endevor section.
Press Enter to confirm your choice.

A Filtered row appears in the Endevor Elements view. You can expand the row to see what filters are applied to the inventory location.
(Optional) Edit or remove your filters by clicking the Edit filter or Clear filter value options respectively. The options appear when you hover over the filter names.

Filter Elements

You successfully set a filter for your inventory location.

Select Element Search Mode

The Element Search Mode option enables you to either display only the first found elements from up the map or all elements from up the map into the Endevor Elements view.

Hover over an inventory location in the Endevor Elements view.

The Select Element Search Mode icon appears on the right side of the panel.
Click the Select Element Search Mode icon.
- (Optional) Click the All Elements Up the Map icon.
  
  All elements from up the Endevor map appear in the Endevor Elements view.
- (Optional) Click the Only First Found Elements icon.
  
  The first found of elements from up the Endevor map appears in the Endevor Elements view.
(Optional) To return to the elements in place view, click the Select Element Search Mode icon again and select the Elements in Place Only option.

You successfully displayed the elements from up the map.

Add an Element

You can upload a new element to your inventory location. Also, you can assign a processor group to your element in the process of uploading the element. The uploaded element appears under the selected type in the Endevor Elements view.

Hover over an inventory location in the Endevor Elements view.

The Add an Element icon appears on the right side of the panel.
Click the Add an Element icon to upload a new element.

The Explorer dialog appears. You can now select an element that you want to upload from your workstation.
Select an element that you want to upload from your workstation.
(Optional) Select an available processor group from the drop-down list.

Add an Element

You successfully added the element.

View an Element

You can view the contents, summary, and source level information of an element by clicking on the element in the Endevor Elements view. The chosen element appears in the editor area. Viewing the contents of the element allows you to determine if you want to retrieve and work with the element.

Hover over an element that you want to view.
Click the element to see the contents of the element.

The contents of the element appear in the editor area.

View an Element

Delete an Element

You can permanently delete an element by clicking on the element in the Endevor Elements view and by selecting the Delete option.

Note: By default, the feature is disabled. Navigate to the extension setting to enable the Delete option.

Hover over an element that you want to delete.
Right-click on the element and select the Delete option.
Confirm or cancel the deletion of the element.
When you decide to confirm the deletion, enter CCID and a comment.

You successfully deleted the selected element.

Move an Element

Use the Move option against an element to move the selected element up the map. When the move is successful, the element is displayed in the next stage up the map. To see the result of the move, hover over your inventory location and click the Select Element Search Mode button and select the All Elements Up the Map option that fetches the elements from up the map into the Endevor Elements view. By default, the up the map view is not enabled.

(Optional) Hover over your inventory location in the Endevor Elements view and click the All Elements Up the Map option.

The up the map elements display in the Endevor Elements view.
Right-click the element you want to move and select the Move option.
Enter the CCID.
Enter the comment.
(Optional) Select the following Move options:
- With History: The option preserves source element change history. If you move the element without history, Endevor searches through the element levels at the source location to find a matching level at the target location. Endevor then compares the two and creates a new level at the target location that reflects the differences.
- Bypass Element Delete: Retains the element in the source stage after the move.
- Synchronize: Compensates for differences between the base level of a source element and the current level of a target element. If differences are found, Endevor compares the two elements and creates a new level at the target that reflects the differences. If Endevor differences are not found, Endevor proceeds with a regular move action.
- Retain Signout: The moved element retains the source location signout at the target location.
- Jump: Moves an element even if the element exists at an intermediate stage, not on the map.

You successfully moved the element up the map.

View Details

The inventory location details of an element you want to view appear in the editor area in a separate tab.

Right-click an element.
Select the View Details option.

The details of the element appear in the editor area.

View Details

Show History

The Show History feature enables you to review changes of the element. You can see a new view that is called Element History under the explorer tree. The view lists the history of changes for a selected element.

Right-click an element.
Select the Show History option.

The history of the element appears in the editor area.
(Optional) Right-click any item in the Endevor Element History view and select the Compare with... option.

A drop-down menu with the change levels appears.
(Optional) Select one of the levels to compare to your selected item.

The history with diff appears in the editor area.

You successfully viewed the element history.

View History

Review the Generate Report

You can retrieve the C1MSGS1 Endevor batch execution report that contains the detailed information of your generated elements.

Right-click an element.
Select the Generate in Place or Generate with Copyback option.
Enter CCID.
Enter a comment.
Click the Show Report button in the pop-up.

The C1MSGS1 Endevor batch execution report appears in the editor area.

View History

Generate All Elements for a Subsystem

The Generate All Elements action enables you to generate all the elements within a subsystem at once.

Notes:

By default, the feature is disabled. Navigate to the extension setting to enable the Generate All Elements option.
This feature works with the sandboxed environments or subsystems that include a relatively small number of elements. A significant number of elements in a subsystem can cause disruptions.

Hover over a subsystem.
Click the Generate All Elements icon.
Enter CCID.
Enter a comment.

The summary table for a C1MSGS1 Endevor batch execution report is produced in the event of error(s) while generating element(s). You can review the table in the editor area.

Report Table

Edit

The Edit action lets you download an element, edit, and upload the element back.

Right-click an element.
Select the Edit option.

The contents of the element appear in the editor area. You can now edit the element.
Press Ctrl+S or Command+S when you want to save the edited element.
(Optional) Specify whether the element will be generated after uploading from the drop-down list.
(Optional) Select a processor group from the drop-down list.
(Optional) Enter a CCID.
(Optional) Enter a Comment.

Alternatively, the values for CCID, Comment, and Generate After options can be set using the corresponding status bar items while editing the element.
(Optional) Resolve conflicts between the element versions.

Note: Using the VS Code Files: Auto Save feature (see Save / Auto Save section in the VS Code documentation) with Explorer for Endevor results in a different experience while editing elements. The element changes that were automatically saved by the VS Code are not immediately synchronized back to Endevor. Make sure you pressed Ctrl+S or Command+S when you are ready to synchronize the changes.

You successfully edited and saved the element.

Edit

Out-of-Sync

The out-of-sync feature enables you to resolve out-of-sync elements. Out-of-sync elements are instances of the same element with the element at the higher location in the software lifecycle map that has the change levels that are not reflected in the element located lower in the map. When an out-of-sync situation occurs, you can resolve the out-of-sync, using the Resolve Out-of-Sync option. Elements that are out of sync are marked in the Endevor Elements view.

Right-click an out-of-sync element and select the Resolve Out-of-Sync option.

You are presented with the diff editor that enables you to edit and resolve the conflict.
(Optional) If you had unfinished changes from the previous editing session, you can either select the Use Local Changes option or the Discard Changes and Retrieve from Endevor option.
Edit your element as needed.
(Optional) In the top right corner of the editor area, select the Accept Changes option.

A pop up notifying whether you want to continue appears.
(Optional) Click Continue.
(Optional) Enter CCID and comment.

You successfully resolved the out-of-sync situation for the element.

Resolve Out-of-Sync

Generate

The Generate action enables you to select a processor group and create an executable form of the element, together with any associated outputs such as listings, and has the following available options:

Generate in Place enables you to generate the selected element in the same location where the element resides.
Generate with Copyback enables you to copy the selected element back from up the map to the target location first and then generate the element in that location.
Generate with No Source enables you to generate an element in the target location, using the source of the selected element from up the map. In this case, the source is not fetched to the target location and the sourceless element is created.

You can use the Generate in Place, Generate with Copyback, or Generate with No Source context menu options to perform the Endevor Generate action for a selected element.

Select one of the following options:
- Right-click an element and select the Generate in Place option.
- Right-click an element from up the map and select the Generate with Copy back option.
- Right-click an element from up the map and select the Generate with No Source option.
A successfully-performed Generate action shows a notification pop-up with the Print a listing and Cancel options and the following message:
```
Successfully generated the elements: ... Would you like to see the listing?
```
(Optional) Select an available processor group from the drop-down list.
(Optional) Click Print a listing to see the Generate output.

Note: You can always review the Generate output by selecting the Print a listing option.

You successfully performed the Generate action.

If Generate fails to process an element, the listing is displayed automatically.

Print a Listing

The Print a listing option enables you to display the listings of a selected element.

Right-click an element.
Select the Print a listing option.

When the element processor generates more than one listing, you are provided with a drop-down menu. Otherwise, the only available listing appear in the editor area.
(Optional) Select one of the listings from the drop-down menu.

The contents of the listing appear in the editor area.

You successfully printed the listing.

Print Listing

Sign Out

The Sign out option enables you to lock an element, which prevents other users from editing the element.

Right-click an element.
Select the Sign out option.
Enter a CCID.
Enter a comment.

You successfully signed out the element.

Sign Out

The Sign in option enables you to unlock an element that earlier was signed out by you.

Right-click an element.
Select the Sign in option.

You successfully signed in the element.

Retrieve Elements into local Folder

Note: the Endevor functionality such as Generate, Move, Print listings are not be available if the elements are retrieved from Endevor to a local folder. If you want to use the native Endevor-based options with your elements, use the Edit an element or experimental Workspace Synchronization features instead of the Retrieve Elements option.

Ensure a Workspace folder is opened in VSCode so that you can retrieve elements. Skip the following procedure if you already opened your Workspace folder.

Navigate to the File -> Open Folder menu for the Open Folder dialog to appear.
Select the folder you want your elements to be retrieved into and click the Open button.

Note: A VSCode session might be restarted for changes to be applied.

You now have the Workspace folder to retrieve elements into.

You can download an element or multiple selected elements to your workspace and work with them locally.

Right-click an element or select multiple of them using Ctrl (Command on Mac) + Click and right-click on the one of the selected.
Select the Retrieve option.

The extension downloads and places the element or elements into your workspace. The contents of the element appear in the editor area. You can find the element in the workspace folder.

You successfully retrieved the element(s).

Retrieve Element(s)

You can download an element or multiple elements with dependencies and work with them locally.

Right-click an element or select multiple of them, using Ctrl (Command on MacOS) and right-click on the one of the selected elements.
Select the Retrieve with dependencies option.

The extension downloads and places the element with dependencies into your workspace. The contents of the element appear in the editor area.

You successfully retrieved the element(s) with dependencies.

Retrieve Element(s) with Dependencies

Use Synchronized Workspace

A synchronized Endevor workspace enables you to work with inventory locations locally and synchronize elements from and to Endevor on the mainframe. You can create an Endevor workspace in your VS Code by enabling the Workspace Sync setting in the extension settings. Synchronized elements appear in the selected folder and you can see them in the File Explorer panel. You can manage the workspace from VS Code with Explorer for Endevor extension installed.

Note: The feature is experimental. Use this feature at your own discretion.

For more information on the setting, see Configure Explorer for Endevor in this Readme.

To learn more about the Endevor Workspace synchronization feature, read this article on Medium or review the extension walkthroughs in VS Code.

View Reports

The extension enables you to monitor activity of the session in the Explorer for Endevor tab that you can access using the View tab. The Reports View feature helps you troubleshoot any errors that occur in the extension more efficiently.

Use Reports View to keep track of events that happen during an active session of the extension and review execution errors or API notification messages.

Navigate to the View tab in VS Code.
Click Command Palette....

The command prompt is displayed.
Type Explorer for Endevor: Focus on Endevor Reports View and press Enter.

The Report View is displayed.

You can now click on events to expand them and access execution or API error reports.

To see a list of Endevor messages and codes that were reported, hover over records of the warning or error messages.

Review Package Actions

The extension enables you to see the Endevor packages in a specified Endevor instance, to filter the packages and perform package-related actions.

You can perform the following actions to change the way packages are displayed and the order in which they are displayed:

Show Packages Created by User: Click on the Show Packages Created by User icon in the Endevor Packages view toolbar to show only packages created by currently logged in user.
Descending/Ascending Order by Package ID: Click on the Descending/Ascending Order by Package ID icon to toggle the order in which packages are shown.
Change Instance: Click on the Change Instance icon to change the Endevor instance whose packages are displayed.
Refresh Endevor Packages: Click on the Refresh Endevor Packages icon to retrieve packages information from Endevor, using the current Endevor instance and filter.

Create Package

Create a package from multiple elements. Select elements that you want to organize in a package and right-click on the selection to select the Create/Update Package option.

Select an element or an array of elements by holding the Ctrl/Command key and using the left mouse button.
Right-click the selected element(s) and select the Create/Update Package option.
Enter a name for the package.
Enter a description for the package.
Select options for the package.
(Optional) Enter a CCID.
(Optional) Enter a comment.
Select Move command options for the package.

You successfully created the package.

You can find the package in the Endevor Packages view.

Create a Package

Show Packages

Use the following ways to show packages from an Endevor instance.

Select an Endevor instance from the Endevor Packages view:
1. Hover over the Endevor Packages view toolbar and click Change Instance.
2. Select connection and configuration.
3. (Optional) Select a package status filter.
Use Show Packages from the Endevor Element view:
1. Right-click the Endevor inventory location in the Endevor Element view.
2. Select the Show Packages option.
3. (Optional) Select a package status filter.

You successfully displayed the packages.

Filter Package

You can apply a status filter when fetching packages from the Endevor instance for the first time. The filter reduces the number of packages that are pulled from Endevor based on the status. Additionally, you can apply a package ID filter to reduce the number of displayed packages and save more mainframe resources.

Right-click the filter icon at the top of the list in the Endevor Element view and select the Change Filter option.
Select a status you want to filter.

Note: If all statuses are selected, no packages are filtered out.
(Optional) Specify a package ID to fetch packages that match the ID only and press Enter. Alternatively, click on the plus button in the top right corner of the dialog to fetch packages that match the status filer only.

You successfully applied filters to the fetched packages.

Cast Package

Use the Cast option against a package to prepare the package for review and subsequent execution.

Right-click the package you want to cast and select the Cast Package option.
(Optional) Select the following Cast options:
- Backout Enabled: Indicates whether the backout facility is available for the selected package.
- Components Validation (radio group):
  - Validate: Enables component validation. If component validation fails, the cast fails, as well.
  - Do not validate: Disables component validation for the package.
  - (Default) Validate with warnings: Enables component validation and generates a warning if component validation fails.

You successfully cast the package. You should see a notification pop-up with the Show Execution Report and Cancel options and the following message:

Cast package ... using configuration ... was successful. Would you like to see the report?

If the cast of the package fails, the execution report is displayed automatically.

Reset Package

Use the Reset option against a package if you want to set status back to In-edit, which enables you to modify the package. You can use the Reset option against any package status type.

Right-click a package.
Select the Reset Package option.

You successfully performed the Reset Package action.

Show Package SCL

You can review SCL of your existing packages, using the Show SCL option.

Navigate to the Endevor Packages view.
Right-click the package whose SCL you want to review and select the Show SCL option.

The package SCL in shown in the editor area.

You successfully displayed the package SCL.

Show Package SCL

Create Package Name Using GENPKGID Option

You can use the GENPKGID option to generate a unique package ID while creating a new package.

Note: Ensure that the GENPKGID exit is configured on Endevor.

Select an element or an array of elements by holding the Ctrl/Command key and using the left mouse button.
Right-click the selected element(s) and select the Create/Update Package option.
From the drop-down menu, select the GENPKGID option.
Enter a description for the package.
Select options for the package.
(Optional) Enter a CCID.
(Optional) Enter a comment.
Select Move command options for the package.

You successfully created a new package with an assigned package ID.

Integrating

You can use the functionalities of Zowe-based features like base profiles, team configuration profiles (team config), and API Mediation Layer (API ML), and of the COBOL Language Support extension to enhance your overall experience with Explorer for Endevor.

Use Base Profiles

Explorer for Endevor enables you to use Zowe CLI base profiles. To make your default base profile work in the extension, ensure that you specify such parameters as username, password, host, port, and rejectUnauthorized in the base profile. For more information about how base profiles work, see the Base Profile section on Zowe Docs.

Configure Token Authentication and PassTickets

The Explorer for Endevor Token Authentication feature attempts to use temporary tokens (PassTickets) that are generated by the Endevor Authentication to sign on to the Endevor Web Services. The feature is enabled by default. You can disable the feature, using the Use Token Authentication option in the extension settings.

Note: If the token support is not configured on the Endevor Web Services or the Use Token Authentication setting is disabled, a basic authentication with username and password is used instead.

For more information on PassTickets, check the Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) in the Endevor documentation.

Access Zowe API Mediation Layer

The extension enables you to connect to Endevor Web Services that are integrated with the Zowe API Mediation Layer, using your existing base profile. Ensure that you log in to the Zowe API Mediation layer authentication service, using your credentials and edit your current Endevor location to include the API ML endpoint for Endevor Web Services.

Navigate to Zowe Explorer.
Right-click your profile in the Data Sets view and select the Manage Profile option.
Select the Edit Profile option from the drop-down menu.

A team configuration file is opened.

Add a new Endevor connection with the following properties:

{
  "$schema": "./zowe.schema.json",
  "profiles": {
    "base": {
      "type": "base",
      "properties": {
        "host": "api-ml-service.net", // specify your base URL for the Zowe API Mediation Layer
        "port": 8080, // specify the port of your Zowe API Mediation Layer
        "rejectUnauthorized": true,
        "tokenType": "apimlAuthenticationToken"
      },
      "secure": ["tokenValue"]
    },
    "endevor-via-apiml": {
      "type": "endevor",
      "properties": {
        "basePath": "/endevor/api/v2" // Specify the basePath of your Endevor Web Services integrated with the Zowe API Mediation Layer
      }
    }
  }
}

where host and port are the common endpoint of your Zowe API ML services, and basePath is the specific endpoint where your Endevor Web Services are deployed under the Zowe API ML.

Save your team configuration file.

For more information about Zowe API Mediation Layer, see Integrating with API Mediation Layer on Zowe Docs.

You successfully customized the API ML connection properties for your Endevor connection.

Re-authenticate API ML-enabled Profiles

If your API ML profile token is expired, the extension navigates you to re-authenticate the token using Zowe Explorer or the Zowe CLI. When you click on your Endevor connection that has an expired token, the extension prompts you to open Zowe Explorer to update the token. Alternatively, you can update your token using the Zowe CLI.

Click on your Endevor connection with the API ML profile.

If the token is expired, a pop-up with the API ML authentication session is not established or expired message appears in the bottom right corner of VSCode.
(Optional) Click Open Zowe Explorer to Log in button.

You are navigated to Zowe Explorer with the Data Sets view where you can update your profile by authenticating to API ML.

You successfully re-authenticated your token.

Leverage Team Config Functionality

Explorer for Endevor supports reading a global team configuration (team config) file. A team configuration file enables you to manage your Endevor connection details efficiently in one location. You can use global team configs with your team members to share access to Endevor inventory locations. For more information about team config, see Using Team Profiles on Zowe Docs. The extension reads team configuration files only if the profile sync setting is enabled. To configure the setting, navigate to > Settings > Extensions > Explorer for Endevor > Profiles: Keep in sync.

As an application developer, you can obtain a shared global configuration file from your system administrator and use the file to access shared systems. As a system administrator, you need to have Zowe CLI 7.2.1 or higher on your workstation before you create a team configuration file.

Tip: You can convert your existing Zowe CLI profiles into team configuration files with the zowe config convert-profiles command. For more information about team config conversion, see step 3 in the procedure in Updating Zowe CLI and Zowe CLI plug-ins on Zowe Docs.

Integrate with COBOL Language Support

You can integrate Explorer for Endevor with COBOL Language Support that enables you to use the following functionality:

Load your data sets containing COBOL code directly from the data set tree.
Load your COBOL code directly from Endevor elements.
Enable automatic copybook retrieval from the mainframe.

For more information, see COBOL Language Support on VSC Marketplace.

Zowe Conformance Program

Explorer for Endevor is Zowe Explorer V3 Conformant. The Zowe Conformance Program ensures a high level of common functionality, interoperability, and user experience while using an extension that leverages Zowe. For more information, see Zowe Conformance Program.

Review Extension Limitations

This section lists notable limitations in the current version of Explorer for Endevor.

Searching elements by comment and CCID is not supported.

You can search using the instance, environment, stageNumber, system, subsystem, and type parameters.
Only the UTF-8 character encoding is currently supported.

Privacy Notice

The extensions for Visual Studio Code developed by Broadcom Inc., including its corporate affiliates and subsidiaries, ("Broadcom") are provided free of charge, but in order to better understand and meet its users’ needs, Broadcom may collect, use, analyze and retain anonymous users’ metadata and interaction data, (collectively, “Usage Data”) and aggregate such Usage Data with similar Usage Data of other Broadcom customers. Please find more detailed information in License and Service Terms & Repository.

This data collection uses built-in Microsoft VS Code Telemetry, which can be disabled, at your sole discretion, if you do not want to send Usage Data.

The current release of Explorer for Endevor collects anonymous data for the following events:

Element actions, such as Add, Retrieve, Sign in, Sign out, Edit, Generate, Move, Delete, etc.
Build the Endevor Elements view, refresh the view, filtering
Build the Endevor Element History view
Build the Endevor Packages view, refresh the view, filtering
Package actions, such as Create, Show SCL, Cast, etc.
Build the Endevor Reports view
Internal and Endevor errors

Note: Any sensitive information is filtered, so the extension gets only anonymous error messages and Endevor REST API error codes. The Endevor REST API error codes are collected for the purposes of determining errors in the extension lifecycle.

Each event is logged with the following records:

Event time
Operating system and version
Country or region
Anonymous user and session ID
Version numbers of Microsoft VS Code and Explorer for Endevor

Technical Assistance and Support

The Explorer for Endevor extension is made available to customers on the Visual Studio Code Marketplace in accordance with the terms and conditions contained in the provided End-User License Agreement (EULA).

If you are on active support for Endevor, you get technical assistance and support in accordance with the terms, guidelines, details, and parameters that are located within the Broadcom Working with Support guide.

This support generally includes:

Telephone and online access to technical support
Ability to submit new incidents 24x7x365
24x7x365 continuous support for Severity 1 incidents
24x7x365 access to Broadcom Support
Interactive remote diagnostic support

Technical support cases must be submitted to Broadcom in accordance with guidance provided in “Working with Support”.

Note: To receive technical assistance and support, you must remain compliant with “Working with Support”, be current on all applicable licensing and maintenance requirements, and maintain an environment in which all computer hardware, operating systems, and third party software associated with the affected Broadcom software are on the releases and version levels from the manufacturer that Broadcom designates as compatible with the software. Changes you elect to make to your operating environment could detrimentally affect the performance of Broadcom software and Broadcom shall not be responsible for these effects or any resulting degradation in performance of the Broadcom software. Severity 1 cases must be opened via telephone and elevations of lower severity incidents to Severity 1 status must be requested via telephone.

Explorer for Endevor

Broadcom

Explorer for Endevor

Filter Elements

Select Element Search Mode

Add an Element

View an Element

Delete an Element

Move an Element

View Details

Show History

Review the Generate Report

Generate All Elements for a Subsystem

Edit

Out-of-Sync

Generate

Print a Listing

Sign Out

Sign In

Re-authenticate API ML-enabled Profiles